


Downtempo

by idiotbrothers



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Banter, General Shenanigans, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-26
Updated: 2016-06-26
Packaged: 2018-07-18 11:24:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7313275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idiotbrothers/pseuds/idiotbrothers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arin's a show-off, and Dan's not at all into it. Not even a little.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Downtempo

**Author's Note:**

> I was gonna put a disclaimer here, but you guys know what's up. Reminder that I'm not cool with any of my works being shared elsewhere (specifically if you're affiliated with GG, in which case, why are you even reading this? It's kinda embarrassing for both of us).

"Hey, Dan, what's the hold-up?"

The sound of Arin's voice coming around the corner made Dan wrap his arms around the box he was holding with renewed vigor, attempting to lift it for maybe the fifth time in as many minutes. He huffed out an exasperated breath as he struggled under its weight, the muscles in his arms already beginning to ache slightly. Quite frankly, it was kind of embarrassing. He was a grown-ass man, and one who had finally started working out occasionally, at that. He should have been able to lift a single box of cleaning supplies without huffing and puffing like he'd been running a marathon.

"Dude," Arin said as he appeared in Dan's line of sight, carrying a fairly hefty-looking box of his own. "You should've said something. Here, I'll take it." Arin stepped right up to Dan and lowered the box he was holding, clearly intending for Dan to stack his on top of it.

"Don't fuckin' baby me, Arin," Dan said, keeping his tone light even though he'd just tired himself out and was absolutely not in the mood to be spoken down to like he was an unreliable child.

"I'll baby you all I want, _sweetness_. Now c'mon, it'll take us another fifty years to finish moving this stuff out if you don't cooperate." 

Dan frowned, friendliness be damned. "I _am_ cooperating. I'm pulling my weight like I'm supposed to. It's my fuckin' stuff; I'm not gonna sit back with an iced tea and watch you do all the work." 

"Mmm, I bet you'd like that." 

"I wouldn't! That's the point."

"Look, Dan, don't be an idiot. You gotta know your limits, right? Most of the smaller boxes are lined up in the kitchen; you can take care of those, and I'll do the heavy lifting. I'm just being practical." Arin held out his box expectantly, and with a frustrated sigh, Dan relinquished his own box, balancing it on top of Arin's and dropping his sore arms. 

"There. Was that so hard?"

Dan grumbled an unintelligible response as he watched Arin walk out of the room with both boxes, lifting them as easily as if they contained nothing but feathers. Dan dropped his gaze to the ground and brooded silently. Was Arin really that much stronger than him? He'd never given it much thought before, but he supposed it was an obvious truth, considering their difference in mass and how often Arin went to the gym. The more Dan thought about it, the more it annoyed him. He lost track of how many minutes had passed before Arin came back to pick up another box.

"Chop chop, Dan. Those pots and pans aren't gonna move themselves." Okay, now he was just being facetious. Dan burned a glare into the back of his head, quickly easing his features into a neutral smile when Arin turned around. "Did you pull a muscle or something? You look disturbed."

"I'm totally okay. I'm having a groovy good time."

Arin scoffed. "Okay, grandpa."

Dan absently looked him over, his irritation mounting by the second. A few strands of hair had escaped the confines of Arin's hairband and had stuck to his face with sweat. He was flushed and glistening and his arms were pulled tight around the large box he was now holding, biceps on full display.

"You smell like a garbage disposal," Dan told him.

Arin smiled, inexplicably smug. "You love it." Dan stared after him as he left, mixed feelings welling up in his chest. He had to fight the sudden urge to punch something.

* * *

   
Dan was trying out the new platform boots he'd bought to go with his Danny Sexbang outfit, taking tentative steps around his living room with all the grace of a newborn deer. Arin was lounging on Dan's couch and watching him, simultaneously amused and concerned, judging by his facial expression.

"I dunno how to break this to you, but...you're gonna fall and die."

"Don't jinx me, asshole," Dan said, wobbling precariously.

"It's like... _How Much Heel is Too Much?  Find out in our upcoming talk with Dan Avidan, the one-limbed wonder_."

"Hilarious. How long were you sitting on that one?"

"Couple minutes. It sounded better in my head."

Dan rolled his eyes, then focused on taking bigger steps, his arms extending outward to help with his balance. "Seriously, though," Arin said, "Do you think you'll be okay onstage in those? I'm already freaking out on your behalf."

"I'll be fine as long as I keep practicing," Dan assured him. He was just about to throw out a cocky line about how he could take care of himself, when his left shoe gave out and he very nearly tripped. "Fuck, that was close," Dan breathed.

"Be careful," Arin said, and Dan was startled by how close he suddenly was, his hand touching the small of Dan's back.

"When did you get up?" Because he was wearing the boots, Dan had to actually look down to meet Arin's eyes, which was odd. 

Arin gave him a rueful smile. "Can I, like, hang out in the wings when you're performing, just so I can rush onstage and save you if you're about to keel over?"

Dan reached out and flicked him on the forehead. "You worry too much. Though I do appreciate the sentiment."

"Yeah, you like that? I could be your big, burly knight in shining...in _old sweatpants_."

"Pfft, shut up. I'd make a really disappointing princess."

"No way, with that dulcet voice of yours? You're a medieval man's dream."

Dan pulled a face, and Arin laughed, squeezing Dan's shoulder. Dan smacked Arin's hand away, taking a couple more steps forward and bending his legs experimentally. "Okay, honestly? It feels like my feet are encased in cement blocks. Gonna take a lot of getting used to."

"I think it's about time for a break," Arin said, and Dan nodded, starting to shuffle back over to the couch. He'd barely taken a single step forward before Arin said, "Hang on," and scooped Dan up bridal-style.

"Arin! What-" Dan spluttered incoherently, his shoes knocking together as Arin walked him forward, one arm against Dan's back and one beneath his legs.

"Dude, stop squirming. I'm doing you a favor; keeping you off your feet for a bit."

"Put me down! I'll just take the boots off!"

Arin ignored him, sidestepping the couch and taking them out of the living room. Dan had instinctively grabbed onto Arin's shirt earlier, and he could barely just feel the steady beat of Arin's heart against his clenched fist. It distracted him for a moment, so that he was caught off guard when Arin said, "You weigh fuckin' nothing. It's like carrying a bundle of toothpicks."

Dan frowned up at him. "Even with the gigantic shoes? You're totally lying."

"I'm totally not. I could lift you over my head and throw you like a football."

"I've seen the way you quote-unquote _throw_ a football, Arin. That's not super impressive."

Arin propelled the arm resting under Dan's legs sharply upward, making Dan bounce involuntarily. Dan yelped and threw his arms around Arin's neck, having been blindly sure that he was about to fall and break his face. 

"I'm gonna kill you, Arin. Just 'cause you've got fuckin'...gorilla strength-"

"I'm not all that strong. You've got the constitution of a saltine cracker, so."

"I absolutely do not! I'm telling you, you're a goddamn gorilla."

"Agree to disagree, Tiny Dancer." Arin sounded so self-satisfied that Dan wanted to kick him in the shin with one heavy silver boot, but he refrained from doing so. They were in the foyer now, and Arin had stopped at the foot of the stairs.

"You quite done pretending to be He-Man?"

"Nah," Arin said, meeting Dan's eyes. "I think you need to sleep off all this exertion. Allow me to escort you to your quarters." And with that, Arin started carrying Dan up the stairs, making him scowl incredulously.

"My boot's going _so_ far up your ass when you put me down."

"Consider the following," Arin said, doing a superbly half-baked Bill Nye impression, "You could've pushed away from me the minute I picked you up. What's that one Shakespeare line about, like, the lady who protests a lot?" 

Dan's cheeks warmed despite himself, because he suddenly felt kind of foolish. Well, _more_ foolish than he'd already been feeling. He hated that Arin brought up a damn good point. "Stop," Dan said gruffly, shoving at Arin's shoulders just as they reached the top of the stairs. The second Arin complied, Dan wriggled out of his grasp and stood tall on the treacherous boots, avoiding Arin's eyes.

"Hey, I was just messing with you," Arin said, actually sounding kind of apologetic.

"No worries," Dan replied coolly, bending over to yank down the zipper on his left boot. "I think I will take that nap you suggested, though. Head's feelin' a little fuzzy."

"Okay," Arin said after an uncertain pause. Then, "I guess I should head home, anyway. Told Suzy I'd be back an hour ago." Dan nodded, sat down on the floor to finally take the boots off. His heart skipped a beat when Arin trailed his fingers through Dan's hair as he walked past, his back to Dan as he took the stairs two at a time, hands migrating to his pockets.

Dan stood and leaned against the banister absentmindedly, his eyes following Arin to the front door. "Drive safely," Dan blurted, even though the drive between his house and Arin's barely took twenty minutes on a bad day. Arin turned to look at him, his hand on the doorknob, his mouth quirked into a lopsided smile.

"I'll see you at work tomorrow. Don't let the mosquitoes get you. Also, if you change your mind about the fuckin' boots, call me over and we can burn them on a sacrificial altar."

"You got it," Dan said.

Right before Arin disappeared through the door, Dan found himself staring at the outline of Arin's back through his flimsy t-shirt, his shoulders as big and imposing as the curling ends of his hair were subtle and delicate. His eyes stayed fixed on the front door long after Arin had left, and he had to snap himself out of the confused daze he'd fallen into, his thoughts running together like raindrops on a windowpane. 

* * *

   
"Dan, I'm serious. Give me the controller."

"Fuck no! Why should I have to use the janky one?"

"Because I'm the boss, that's why. Also, you suck ass at this game."

"So do you! Fuckin' big man on campus, can't even beat this _baby level_ without dying seven times."

"Gimme," Arin said, irritation coloring his features as he lunged for the controller. Dan yelped and scrambled to evade Arin's reach, scooting towards the far end of the couch and sticking the arm holding the coveted controller straight up into the air.

"You'll never take me alive," Dan said, melodramatic, and Arin let out a frustrated little laugh.

"Don't underestimate me, dude." With that, Arin shifted so that his legs were bracketing Dan's, one hand clutching at Dan's shoulder and the other grabbing Dan's wrist. Dan did his best to resist, but Arin dragged Dan's arm down with what felt like minimal effort, prying the controller out of his fingers and crowing triumphantly. "Would you look at that, Dan? Another easy victory for Arin 'Egoraptor' Hanson, the superior and infinitely more handsome Grump. Lemme hear you say it."

And normally, Dan would have played off of Arin's braggadocio, he really would have, but the way their bodies were currently pressed together was more than a little unfortunate, and Dan was finding it increasingly difficult to focus. "Um, Arin? Could you, uh...Maybe get off me?"

Arin blinked, slow on the uptake, and Dan gave him a look that was meant to convey _Like seriously bro don't make me say it out loud because it's mortifying but your fucking cock is all up in my business right now like I can straight-up feel that shit against my groin and I wish I didn't have to call attention to it at all but them's the breaks_.

"Why?" Arin asked, apparently oblivious, and Dan grimaced inwardly. He grasped for some kind of reasonable excuse that had nothing to do with crotchal regions or the friction being generated thereof every time one of them made the tiniest movement.

"A-Arin. We have to get back to the game. Can't do that if you're sitting on my lap, facing away from the TV." 

There. Rational and work-minded, with no mention of dick-smushing.

"You're turning bright red. This getting you hot, Dan?"

God fucking dammit.

"It's getting me upset that I'm losing circulation in my legs, that's what," Dan said, his heart pounding out an irregular rhythm in his chest. 

"Oh c'mon, I'm not _that_ fat."

"Did I _say_ \- Okay, you know what, don't fuckin' bait me right now, you unhelpful jerk."

Arin dropped the controller he'd still been holding onto the couch, slid both of his palms up Dan's chest. "I can 'bate you in a different way, if you're into that."

Dan was about to snap at him to quit fucking around, but he stopped himself when he took in the expression on Arin's face, his half-lidded eyes and his flushed cheeks, the way he was worrying at his bottom lip. "Shit, Arin, are you..."

He had no idea how he was supposed to finish that sentence, so he didn't, answering his own unasked question by studying Arin's features, his hunched posture. Dan had been sort of avoiding this fact for a couple minutes, but he could literally feel Arin's arousal, for Christ's sake. It was warm and insistent and Dan had this huge fucking lump in his throat at the thought of doing something about it.

Dan could tell that Arin was getting antsy, looking down at himself and idly playing with a button on Dan's flannel, his bangs obscuring his eyes. Not wanting to keep him guessing, Dan tilted Arin's chin up with his finger, thought _Fuck it_ and pressed their mouths together in a heated kiss.

Arin responded like he'd been touch-starved until this exact moment, and by the time they broke apart, Dan's clothes and hair were in total disarray, his heart glowing like an ember. "So hot, Arin," Dan breathed, finally letting himself look his fill, touch without reservation.

"Dan," Arin said, laden with meaning and so affectionate that Dan had to kiss him again, his palm cupping the side of Arin's face.

"Fun fact," Dan said, some time later when they were kind of just leaning against each other and breathing in tandem, their limbs intertwined. "I had this dream once that you, like, choked me out. Y'know, with your fuckin' mondo arms. Woke up with a raging hard-on."

Arin laughed softly. "Doesn't surprise me, man. You were always staring."

"Yeah, well, can you blame me?"

"Cool it, Casanova. I'm pretty much burnt out for today."

"You think you'll be ready to go again in twenty minutes?"

"Dan."

"Thirty minutes?"

"I really will choke you if you don't stop yapping. And not in the sexy way." 

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: @regretroids


End file.
